Ceremonies are being held in Armenia to mark the centenary of the start of mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks.

The
presidents of France and Russia joined other leaders at the memorial
for the victims on the outskirts of the capital, Yerevan.Armenia says up to 1.5 million people died, a figure disputed by Turkey.Turkey strongly objects to the use of the term genocide to describe the killings and the issue has soured relations between the nations.Turkey
accepts that atrocities were committed but argues there was no
systematic attempt to destroy the Christian Armenian people. Turkey says
many innocent Muslim Turks also died in the turmoil of war.

A
memorial service will also be held in Turkey on Friday and its prime
minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, has said the country will "share the pain" of
Armenians. But he reiterated Turkey's stance that the killings were not
genocide

Turkey is on Friday also hosting ceremonies to mark the 100th anniversary of the start of the Battle of Gallipoli.However,
the actual fighting there began on 25 April, and Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan has accused Turkey of "trying to divert world attention"
from the Yerevan commemorations.

Canonisation

After
the flower-laying ceremony in Yerevan, Mr Sargsyan addressed the
guests, saying: "I am grateful to all those who are here to once again
confirm your commitment to human values, to say that nothing is
forgotten, that after 100 years we remember."

At the scene: BBC's Rayhan Demytrie in YerevanThe
purple forget-me-not is the symbol of the centenary. It can be seen
everywhere in Yerevan: from window shops and windscreen stickers, to
lapel pins that many are proudly wearing.There is also a centenary slogan which reads "I remember and demand".But what is it that the Armenians are demanding? I asked some of the people in Yerevan's Mashtotz Avenue."We
demand fairness from the world community, that's it," said Sergey
Martirossyan, "but for me personally it won't make any difference. What
we actually need in Armenia is for the government to take serious steps
towards economic growth."

French President Francois Hollande said: "We will never forget the tragedies that your people have endured."Friday
marks the 100th anniversary of the day the Ottoman Turkey authorities
arrested several hundred Armenian intellectuals in Constantinople,
today's Istanbul, most of whom were later killed. The BBC's
Rayhan Demytrie in Yerevan says the Armenians regard this as the
beginning of the Ottoman policy of mass extermination of Christian
Armenians suspected of supporting Russia, the Ottoman Empire's World War
One enemy.Russian President Vladimir Putin is also among those attending the ceremonies.US President Barack Obama issued a carefully worded statement for the anniversary, referring to "one of the worst atrocities of the 20th Century", without using the term genocide.

France, represented by Francois Hollande, has
been a strong advocate of recognising the killings as genocide
The eternal flame at the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial in Yerevan
President Vladimir Putin also attended and addressed the guests
Armenians around the world, like here in Jerusalem, insist the killings were genocide
During his 2008 presidential
election campaign, then senator Obama had vowed to "recognise the
Armenian genocide" and in his new statement said: "I have consistently
stated my own view of what occurred in 1915, and my view has not
changed."However, his phrasing has angered Armenian Americans.Bryan
Ardouny, executive director of the Armenian Assembly of America, said
in a statement: "President Obama's exercise in linguistic gymnastics on
the Armenian genocide is unbecoming of the standard he himself set and
that of a world leader today."On Thursday the Armenian Church canonised the 1.5 million people it says were killed in the massacres and deportations.It said it wanted to proclaim the martyrdom of those who died for their faith and homeland.After the ceremony, bells tolled in Armenian churches around the world.Also
on Thursday, German President Joachim Gauck described the killings as
genocide, on the eve of a debate in the German parliament on the issue.Earlier
this month, Turkey recalled its envoy to the Vatican after Pope Francis
also used the word genocide in a reference at a Mass at St Peter's
Basilica.France has been a strong advocate of recognising the
killings as genocide and President Hollande has pushed for a law to
punish genocide denial. The issue has strained Franco-Turkish relations.

What happened in 1915?

Hundreds of thousands of Armenians died in 1915 at the hands of the Ottoman Turks, whose empire was disintegrating. Many
of the victims were civilians deported to barren desert regions where
they died of starvation and thirst. Thousands also died in massacres.Armenia says up to 1.5 million people were killed. Turkey says the number of deaths was much smaller.Most
non-Turkish scholars of the events regard them as genocide - as do more
than 20 states, including France, Germany, Canada and Russia, and
various international bodies including the European Parliament.Turkey
rejects the term genocide, maintaining that many of the dead were
killed in clashes during World War One, and that many ethnic Turks also
suffered in the conflict.

The Tragedy was Prophsied in 1855 by a Russian "Boy Prophet"Demos Shakarian (21 July 1913 – 23 July 1993) is one great story out of this tragedy. He was a Christian businessman of Armenian origin from Los Angeles who founded the Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International (FGBMFI). He was named after his grandfather, who left Kara Kala in Armenia for
America due to the 1855 prophecy of the Russian "Boy Prophet", Efim
Gerasemovitch Klubniken, that an unspeakable tragedy was to soon come upon Armenia,[1] and he was part of a large group of Pentecostal Christian Armenians who moved to Los Angeles years before the Azusa Street Revival.
.

His story and the story of FGBMFI is the subject of the book The Happiest People on Earth, written by John and Elizabeth Sherrill (Guideposts Magazine) and published in 1975. Demos Snr died while working on the construction of railroads in
Nevada, and his young son Isaac became the head of the family. Isaac
married Zarouhi Yessayian, and he became a prosperous dairy farmer.
Demos Jnr entered the family business and their milk herd grew to become
the largest in the world at the time. Additional Research by Ambassador T. Brikins

About Me

Ambassador T. Brikins is a Writer Blogger, Mass Communications Consultant and Inforpreneur having experiences in the National News Media, Oil and Gas, Administration, University and the Church of Christ..
He is C.E.O. @ New Direction Communications..
He is an ordained Minister and heavily imparted by Dr. David Oyedepo, Pastor E.A.Adeboye, Rev.Roselyn Oduyemi, Kenneth Copeland,Dr. D.Yongi Cho, Apostle Alex Bamgbola, Kenneth E. Hagin, Apostle G. Oduyemi, Archbishop Benson Idahosa, T.L. Osborn,Dr. E.W. Kenyon , Oral Roberts and many more.
Ambassador T. Brikins runs with the visions of Isaiah 11:9; Matthew 23:23 and 11 Corinthians 5:16-21 working with the Lord for their practical expressions in every area of life. .
He lives in Lagos, Nigeria.
Twitter:@Brikins_tuoyo
Email:weightiermatter@gmail.com
Phone:+234-8023131300